Italy vs Namibia Predictions - Italy set for comfortable victory

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 05 Sep 2023

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Ralph Staniforth 05 Sep 2023

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Watch Italy vs Namibia in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday (13:00 SAST)
Namibia have never won a World Cup game
Can Italy get a bonus point win to start?

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Italy should be far too strong for minnows, Namibia (Getty images)

Italy vs Namibia Preview

Italy should be far too good for a Namibian side that has never won a match at the Rugby World Cup. To put it into context, if Namibia upsets the odds here it will be on par with Japan beating South Africa in 2015.

Italy vs Namibia Preview
Head to Head
Italy Form
Italy Injuries & Team News
Namibia Form
Namibia Injuries & Team News

I however feel Italy are in a good space at the moment and while Namibia might challenge early on, I’m backing Italy to win by more than 31 points.

Italy beat Namibia 47-22 in their only previous match.
Italy have won their last 2 matches.
Namibia have never won a World Cup match.
Namibia lost 3 of their last 4 matches.

Head to Head

These sides met during the 2019 Rugby World Cup; a match Italy won 47-22.

Italy Form

Italy finished the 2023 Six Nations bottom of the pile, losing all five matches during the tournament. Although that doesn’t tell the full story with the Azurri pushing all the opposition to the brink.

During the warm-up games, Italy impressed yet again. They lost 25-13 to Scotland and 33-17 to Ireland in their first two games but challenged sides far superior to them.

Italy then dismantled Romania 57-7 before seeing off a tough challenge against Japan, 42-21 in their last game.

Italy Injuries & Team News

Italy will want to get maximum points from this match. They know they will need a massive upset against New Zealand or France if they are to progress to the quarter-finals.

Namibia Form

This will be Namibia’s sixth Rugby World Cup having qualified for every tournament since 1999. They have however always been minnows and not only have they never progressed past the group stage, but they have also never won a World Cup match.

The Southern African side will want to change that this year, but a tough task awaits them. Their opener against Italy will be among their “easier” games with France and New Zealand still to come. The game Namibia will target is the one against Uruguay.

What will give the Namibians some comfort is that they were competitive against Italy in their last meetings - during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. They lost the match 47-22 but it was a strong performance.

Namibia had some decent warm-up performances, but they did lose to South African franchise, Bulls before departing for France.

Namibia Injuries & Team News

Namibia will most likely put out a full-strength lineup for their tournament opener.

Verdict

Italy v Namibia

I am backing Italy to run away with this game. A win by more than 35 points is tipped.

Italy -35

Handicap

$2.25 - 3 Units

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